Keeping Utahns Fed During the Coronavirus Pandemic

This article is part of a series featuring Utah-based companies and what they’re doing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Relationships have never been more important to one Salt Lake City-based small business, and they’re even more focused on them — relationships to customers, to artisans and to the community.

In the face of the global coronavirus pandemic, Caputo’s Market and Deli is adapting to ever-changing economic uncertainty.

Although challenges abound, Matt Caputo, CEO of Caputo’s, is grateful for his phenomenal employees. “They’ve shown the ability to switch into emergency mode instantly,” says Caputo. “We have chefs that are now doing nothing but packing online orders and cheesemongers doing nothing but deliveries. They are doing what needs to be done, keeping a smile on their face and selflessly shifting job descriptions.”

Caputo’s active online business includes shipping cheese, chocolate and other comfort foods. The now-empty dining room serves as a staging area where workers fulfill online shipments and orders for programs such as the “Deal of the Week: Artisan Support Pack.” Additionally, Caputo’s moved its education program online and its cheese and chocolate classes reach almost 80 people per class nationwide.

The company’s sanitation regime includes sanitizing every contact surface in each store every 30 minutes. Crew members are also prepared with face masks and plastic face shields. “We’re geeks. We’re geeks about cheese; we’re geeks about chocolate. And we’re geeks about safety,” adds Caputo.

“Restaurants are fighting right now and they need customers,” says Caputo. “Please put wind in their sails. If we want to have a thriving food community when this is all over, restaurants are absolutely essential.”